Grown in Connecticut: Antique Apples Making a Comeback

Rick Macsuga of the Connecticut Department of Agriculture said there are just a few more weeks of fresh leafy greens, peppers, beans, and eggplants but apples, peaches and winter squashes are coming in "at full tilt."

"This is kind of the end of the summer production, you're gonna start seeing less and less of it, even if the weather holds, the plants are getting tired,"said Macsuga of the summer crops.

But, Macsuga said he has seen an increasing varieties of apples available.

"There are tons of old antique varieties," he said of the new crop of Wolf River, golden pippen, and baldwin apples.

"The baldwin was an apple that your grandmother made pie with, you can throw it and put it through a brick wall, it is hard."

The variety was very popular for making hard cider as well, according to Macsuga. The baldwin was the apple of choice in Connecticut before the hurricane of 1938, he said, which uprooted all the baldwin apple trees, which were replaced with macintosh apple trees.

Farmers are also picking anjou, bartlett, bosc and seckle pears, which Macsuga said, are the size of a walnut and they are very sweet.

"Non-food items are the hot item right now," according to Macsuga of gourds. "You cannot eat them, they're just decorative. They were never intended to eat but perhaps used to make bowls, spoons or bird houses. Now they're just odd looking shapes and colors and just appealing to the eye."

Corn, pumpkins and all varieties of winter squash are also abundant.

What's fresh this week:

Apples

Pears

Brussels sprouts

Peppers

Tomatoes

Eggplant

Grapes

Winter squash

Potatoes

Peppers

Onions

Corn

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Cabbage

Kale

Spinach

Collard greens

Swiss Chard

Pumpkins

Gourds

Cider

Celery root

Where to find them:

The Ledyard Farmers’ Market is on Wednesdays from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Ledyard Town Center at the Fair Grounds. www.ledyardfresh.com, WIC/Senior FMNP Accepted.

The Norwich Uncas Farmers’ Market is on Mondays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Uncas on the Thames, 401 West Thames Street, 100 Campbell Building. WIC/Senior FMNP Accepted, SNAP/EBT.

The Norwich Downtown Farmers’ Market is on Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the boat marina in Howard Brown Park on Route 2. WIC/Senior FMNP Accepted.

The Preston Farmers’ Market is on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Preston Plains School on Route 164. WIC/Senior FMNP Accepted.